The problems connected with filtering unwanted particles or substances from a liquid, gaseous or particulate substance has been addressed by many individuals, Companies, etc., which has resulted in a variety of filtering means using various apparatuses and filtering media which has resulted in general in expensive equipment involving replaceable filters, back flushing valves and apparatus, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,200,077 issued Apr. 6, 1993 teaches a "BACKFLUSHABLE ROTARY MELT POLYMER FILTER APPARATUS" which is designed to be used with a hot melt injection mold with no provision for backflushing with any other substance other than the hot melt itself. It teaches an interior port which has no means of control for volume or pressure and only allows a partial flow of the hot melt to directly flow from the exhaust manifold to a backflush port and all the contaminants are normally returned to the incoming stock for recycling, also, the device teaches that it is to be used for a liquid only and no provision is taught for multiple cleaning ports to backflush the filter with several different medias, such as petroleum products, steam, water, air, etc. Also, a racheting system is taught to intermittently rotate the filter elements and the apparatus requires special filter sleeves to recess and seal the filters into recesses, requiring additional machining and separate biasing means in the form of bolts with the bolts acting as part of the racheting means unlike the present invention which uses an off the shelf gear and worm drive for continuous rotation. Many parts and elements are eliminated by the present invention over this prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,592 issued Apr. 8, 1992 teaches a "ROTARY SELF-CLEANING STRAINER" which is simultaneously cleaned and rotated by a nozzle structure and pertains to a strainer being placed into a body of water with its discharge connected to a pump.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,601 issued May 8, 1990, U.S. Pat. No. 4,906,373 issued Mar. 6, 1990, U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,592 issued May 19, 1987 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,703,465 issued Dec. 14, 1970 each teach a filter system with backflushing capabilities and multiple filter elements, however, each of these require a filter housing in the form of a tank-like structure with the backflushing assembly being moved to each filter by some external mechanical connection, such as an arm and each require a different axiom than the present invention.
One of the major problems which must be addressed is the reduction of volume or pressure of the filtered stream whenever a filter becomes clogged or nearly clogged and in most cases results in re-routing the stream through secondary filters while the primary filters are being replaced or back flushed which in many cases is costly and time consuming. Also, a drop in pressure or volume from a constant volume or pressure can be costly and result in other problems.
It is therefore desirable and a need exists to provide a filter system and/or apparatus which is "self-cleaning" and which will provide a constant volume and/or pressure under work conditions to provide a consistent flow of material at all times without "down" time of changing filters, back-flushing, re-routing etc., whereby resulting in a cleaner filtered stream of finished material.
It is therefore contended by the applicants that a need exists for a filter which continually removes unwanted contaminants and disposes of them in a manner which does not necessarily use the finished filter stream for back-flushing but through a separate cavity (which acts as a manifold) which separates and removes the contaminants which may then be disposed of.